​Psalm 59:8

According to evolutionary theory, humans had a common ancestor with chickens 300 million years ago. Much more recently in evolutionary time, we had a common ancestor with the mouse. One would then be led to conclude that, in evolutionary terms, we are genetically closer to the mouse than to the chicken. Of course, we must stress that we at Creation Moments have good reasons to reject all those multiple millions of years.

We have also pointed out that as we learn more about the genetics of various kinds of living creatures, evolutionists are receiving some surprises. Researchers often find that the long-supposed evolutionary relationships are contradicted by the genetic information. Recent research compared the gene segments of chickens, mice and people. If evolution were true, one would expect more similarities between the genetic segments of mice and humans. To their amazement, researchers found that, of mice and chickens, we share more common genetic segments with chickens! They tried to explain this result by saying that perhaps mouse segments change more rapidly than human or chicken segments.
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Again, new genetic knowledge has challenged evolutionary assumptions. Once we know what those genetic segments that were studied do, we might understand why these similarities exist. We predict that such knowledge will glorify our Creator's wise design.

Notes: Nature, 11/25/99, pp. 411-412, "The dynamics of chromosome evolution in birds and mammals."
​Photo: Courtesy of Yann. (GFDL). Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

Whether or not America was ever a “Christian nation,” there can be no doubt that she has a unique spiritual and moral heritage, which makes it all the sadder to see the ongoing downfall. The following is from American Minute, Sept. 1, 2015: “The First Session of the Continental Congress opened the beginning of September in the year 1774 with prayer in Carpenter’s Hall, Philadelphia. Threatened by the most powerful monarch in the world, Britain’s King George III, America's founding fathers heard Rev. Jacob Duche begin by reading Psalm 35, the Anglican Book of Common Prayer’s ‘Psalter’ for that day September 7, 1774: ‘Plead my cause, Oh, Lord, with them that strive with me, fight against them that fight against me. Take hold of buckler and shield, and rise up for my help. Draw also the spear and the battle-axe to meet those who pursue me; Say to my soul, I am your salvation. Let those be ashamed and dishonored who seek my life; Let those be turned back and humiliated who devise evil against me.’ Then Rev. Jacob Duche prayed: ‘Be Thou present, O God of Wisdom, and direct the counsel of this Honorable Assembly; enable them to settle all things on the best and surest foundations; that the scene of blood may be speedily closed; that Order, Harmony and Peace may be effectually restored, and that Truth and Justice, Religion and Piety, prevail and flourish among the people. ... Preserve the health of their bodies, and the vigor of their minds, shower down on them, and the millions they here represent, such temporal Blessings as Thou seest expedient for them in this world, and crown them with everlasting Glory in the world to come. All this we ask in the name and through the merits of Jesus Christ, Thy Son and our Saviour, Amen.’”

(Friday Church News Notes, October 23, 2015, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

​I Chronicles 16:24

Evolutionists say that an animal's unique features developed because the unique feature gives the animal some survival benefit. Just what that benefit might be is open to interpretation, and sometimes the explanation is a little fuzzy. Sometimes the explanation just doesn't work.

Such is the case with the marine iguanas of the Galapagos islands. These iguanas are excellent swimmers and search underwater for much of their food. However, when they are underwater they are vulnerable to the marine food chain. Sharks find the marine iguanas very tasty. With their sensitive hearing, these predators can hear the heartbeat of a hiding iguana 12 feet away. So part of the iguana's defense is to stop its heartbeat voluntarily. Amazingly, the iguana can keep its heart stopped for up to 45 minutes without suffering any ill effects.

Evolutionists explain that this ability evolved because it gives the iguana a survival advantage in shark-infested waters. Obviously, a creature's ability to stop its heart for this long requires some major internal modifications. To believe that the iguana knew all the changes it needed to intentionally stop its heart for 45 minutes without death requires quite a leap of faith! However, this evolutionary explanation just doesn't work. The Komodo dragon can also stop its heart. For the Komodo this ability provides no survival advantage, for these huge lizards have no natural enemies.
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These lizards received their special abilities from their wise Creator. Their special abilities glorify Him, not mindless evolution.

Notes: Science Frontiers, 3-4/00, "Heart Stoppers." Photo: Courtesy of Ronhjones. (CC BY 3.0).
​Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

​Matthew 19:6

A few years ago we did a Creation Moments program about the amazing fact that male seahorses, not the females, hatch the young and are solely responsible for their nurture. New research now tells us more about the relationship between the male and female seahorse. One of the surprises is that the female seahorse practices a limited form of monogamy.

An individual male seahorse will range over only about a square yard of area. However, his mate will range over 100 times that area. Although she isn't much of a homebody, she remains faithful to her mate during his entire pregnancy, greeting him each morning by joining him and flashing different colors. It turns out that this greeting ritual is very important. In the laboratory, researchers placed one female and two males in the same tank. After the mating ritual, the female deposited typically 200 eggs in the egg pouch of the male she selected. He was then moved to another tank until his two-week gestation was completed. During the entire time, the female greeted the remaining seahorse each morning, but no attempts at mating took place. However, when the male she selected for mating was returned to the tank and the mating ritual began again, she always chose the male she had greeted each morning during the other's absence in the birthing tank.
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Monogamy is not a product of evolution or human culture. It is a gift of God, Who created seahorses, people and all things.

Notes: Science News, 3/11/00, pp. 168-170, "Pregnant and still macho." Photo: Courtesy of Hlucho. (CC BY-SA 3.0).
​Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

“Every night, France’s chief weatherman has told the nation how much wind, sun or rain they can expect the following day. Now Philippe Verdier, a household name for his nightly forecasts on France 2, has been taken off the air after a more controversial announcement--criticizing the world’s top climate change experts. Mr. Verdier claims in the book Climate Investigation that leading climatologists and political leaders have ‘taken the world hostage’ with misleading data. In a promotional video, Mr. Verdier said: ‘Every night I address five million French people to talk to you about the wind, the clouds and the sun. And yet there is something important, very important that I haven’t been able to tell you, because it’s neither the time nor the place to do so.’ He added, ‘We are hostage to a planetary scandal over climate change--a war machine whose aim is to keep us in fear.’ His outspoken views led France 2 to take him off the air starting this Monday. ‘I received a letter telling me not to come. I’m in shock,’ he told RTL radio. ‘This is a direct extension of what I say in my book, namely that any contrary views must be eliminated.’ ... He said he decided to write the book in June 2014 when Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister, summoned the country’s main weather presenters and urged them to mention ‘climate chaos’ in their forecasts. ‘I was horrified by this discourse,’ Mr Verdier told Les Inrockuptibles magazine. Eight days later, Mr Fabius appeared on the front cover of a magazine posing as a weatherman above the headline: ‘500 days to save the planet.’”

“France’s top weatherman sparks storm,” The Telegraph, London, Oct. 15, 2015

Romans 1:22-23

Scientists who believe in evolution have a faith just as much as any Bible-believing Christian. However, it is a very different faith than Christianity. This fact was illustrated when some secular scientists declared the bones labeled "Piltdown man" an ape-like human ancestor. Only after a couple of generations did they bother to actually study the bones and discover them to be an obvious hoax. They did the same with "Nebraska man," which turned out to be a pig.

Several years ago, scientists announced the finding of some fossil bones of the very first primate. Naming it E-o-sim-ias or "dawn monkey," they said that it led to monkeys, apes and finally to us. Eosimias weighed less than an ounce and could have stood on your thumb. Scientists found no complete skeletons. However, after examining foot bones the size of grains of rice and some lower limb bones, they declared it to be our ancestor. They interpreted the foot bones to be primate-like. They concluded that the lower limb bones showed that Eosimias had grasping hands and feet that enabled it to walk on branches like monkeys.
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The Bible warns that God will curse those with ever more foolish notions who reject the obvious fact that He is Creator. He does this so that they might see their foolishness and repent for placing the creation over the Creator. In this case they have done that by saying that it was not the Creator, but rather this tiny monkey that led to humanity.

Notes: International Herald Tribune, 3/17/00, "Tiny Fossil Fills Gap in Evolutionary Record." Drawing: Courtesy of Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

Christianity Today magazine, founded by Billy Graham, has long promoted the ridiculous and unscriptural concept of “evangelical Catholicism.” The latest example is “The Pope’s Growing Evangelical Flock,” Oct. 9, 2015. It begins with the statement that “under Pope Francis’ leadership, the Catholic Church is looking more, well, Protestant.” Much is made of Pope Francis’ call for Catholics to read the Bible. What is ignored is the fact that Catholics read the Bible through the blinders of Roman heresies and the fact that Rome has formally exalted her vain tradition to the same level of authority as Scripture. The Second Vatican Council proclaimed, “Thus it comes about that the Church does not draw her certainty about all revealed truths from the holy Scriptures alone. Hence, both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honoured with equal feelings of devotion and reverence” (Vatican II, “Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation,” Chap. 2, 9, p. 682). How can Catholicism be “evangelical” in any sense when it brashly denies “Scripture alone”?Christianity Today also notes that Pope Francis is urging Catholics to pray from the heart and not only by rote. Again, what is ignored is the fact that the Pope’s most fervent prayers are addressed to Mary, which is an heretical and blasphemous practice. Christianity Today sites a Pew Research poll showing that 60% of “evangelicals” approve of the pope. That statistic does not prove that Rome is more biblical; it proves, rather, that evangelicalism is more Romish, and this is a major sign of the times. “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

(Friday Church News Notes, October 23, 2015, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

​Genesis 8:7

On May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens exploded, devastating over 200 square miles in Southwestern Washington State. The heat spewing from the volcano melted the snow that covered its heights, creating mud flows that covered the surrounding area. The grim prediction was that forests and wildlife would never be found on or near the mountain within our lifetimes.
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Mount St. Helens' recovery from the devastation provides us with a comparatively small-scale model of the recovery from the great Flood at the time of Noah. Only ten years after the eruption, much of the plant and animal life in the devastated area had returned. Today, evergreens stand taller than a man, fish swim in the lakes and rivers, and frogs are in the ponds. Even larger animals like elk can be found in the once-desolate area. This suggests that it would not have taken generations for the foliage that God preserved in the Flood waters to re-grow forests and jungles, providing homes for the growing, migrating population from the Ark. Before that could happen, Noah had to know that there was somewhere for the animals to go. So he first sent out a raven. Mount St. Helens illustrates why Noah decided to send a raven first. Among the first new colonizers at Mount St. Helens was the raven. They are part of God's army of scavengers to remove the dead and can live in a wide variety of conditions.

Here again we see that even the small details recorded in the Bible are true to real life.

Notes: Creation, 3-5/00 pp. 33-37, "After Devastation, The Recovery."
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

“And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee” (Deuteronomy 28:37).

The lead article in USA Today on Oct. 20, “French Jews Find New Risks in Israel,” describes the dangers Jews face throughout the world, including in Israel itself. France, with Europe’s largest Jewish population, has become the largest source of emigrants to Israel, and this is driven by Europe’s growing anti-semitism. Since January 2015, 6,000 French Jews have emigrated, nearly double the number in 2013. Over the past 65 years, Jews have been going home from locations all over the world. Most of them don’t know exactly what is happening, but it is a fulfillment of prophecy. Bible believers who interpret prophecy literally are the only people on earth who know the times, and according to Bible prophecy, Israel is still under the judgment prophesied in Deuteronomy 28. God warned that if Israel rejected Him and His law, He would evict them from their land and scatter them throughout the earth. We have witnessed the fulfillment of this prophecy over the past 2,000 years. One of the most amazing facts of human history is the continued existence of Israel as a people and a nation, and it is irrefutable evidence of the divine inspiration of the Bible. The Bible describes the return of Israel to her land in a spiritually dead condition (Ezekiel 37:1-8), the reign of the antichrist (2 Thess. 2:3-12; Rev. 13), the Great Tribulation (Mat. 24:15-21), the spiritual conversion of Israel (Zech. 12:9-14; Ezek. 20:36-38), and the victorious return of Jesus Christ to establish His kingdom (Mat. 24:29-31). Presently, we are at the end of the Church Age, and Christ has not yet returned because He is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:8-9). We don’t know exactly how long He will wait, but we can “see the day approaching” (Heb. 10:25), and the major focus of every child of God should be to find his or her place in the gospel preaching and discipleship business of the Great Commission.

(Friday Church News Notes, October 23, 2015, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

I stay abreast of world news, and the news from the Canadian election this week was bad for conservatives. If you are merely “conservative” in a political sense, there is no real hope or encouragement anywhere, but if you are a true Bible believer the sun is always shining even in this present dark world. I stay encouraged by keeping the focus of my heart and mind on the Person of the beautiful Lord and on His prophecies and promises. The following Psalm is packed with these things: “A Psalm of David. Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth. The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming. The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation. Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken. A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous. The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away” (Psalm 37:1-20).

(Friday Church News Notes, November 9, 2012, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

​Romans 5:9

Chocolate has long been thought of as a junk food. However, new research on several fronts reveals that chocolate should probably be reclassified as a health food.

Research shows that the beans from which chocolate is made contain large amounts of antioxidants called flavonoids. Found in tea and other foods, these substances have been linked to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. These flavonoids are present in high enough quantity in the chocolate you buy at the store to produce measurable results in scientific studies. A single gram of chocolate milk has 10 milligrams of antioxidants. If you like dark chocolate, you will more than double your dosage of antioxidants.

While some 4,000 natural flavonoids have been identified, the types found in chocolate are among the most powerful known. They are even more effective than the antioxidants found in vitamin C! Other flavonoids in chocolate have been found to relax the inside of blood vessels that lowers high blood pressure. Chocolate flavonoids have also been found to work as a mild aspirin would to help thin blood. They also help keep the platelets from breaking, which happens when they get too sticky. If all these benefits aren't enough, chocolate has also been found to raise good cholesterol.
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Chocolate may help you have a healthy cardiovascular system in this life. But when this life is done, only the blood of Jesus Christ will give you eternal life.

Notes: Science News, 3/18/00, pp. 188-189, "Chocolate Hearts: Yummy and Good Medicine?" Photo: Courtesy of ChocolateA. (CC BY-SA 3.0). Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

​I Corinthians 10:4b

Here on our Creation Moments program we frequently report on fossil finds that show that rocks don't take millions of years to form. We feature many of these, rather than just one example, in the hope that it will become common knowledge that it is not unusual for rocks to form rapidly.

Our latest example was found on a beach in Ventura County, California. It is clearly a modern rock that formed in the last few decades because partially embedded in the stone is a spark plug. Clearly, no one would claim that man has been making spark plugs for millions of years. The porcelain part of the spark plug became part of the rock. Originally, the metal parts of the spark plug were also embedded in the rock. They rusted away after the rock was formed, leaving an imprint clear enough to determine the thread size of the now-missing metal parts. This suggests that this rock formed within a relatively short time since such metal quickly corrodes in sea water. Based on the thread size and the porcelain portion of the plug, it is thought that the spark plug doesn't date to before the 1950s! It is theorized that the plug originally was in a boat engine and was discarded into the sea.
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That there are so many examples of obviously modern fossils shows that it is not uncommon for rocks to form rapidly. Some rocks you see today may not have existed as rocks when your grandfather was your age. There is no reason for the long-age dating of rocks to undermine faith in our spiritual Rock, Who is Christ.

Notes: Creation, 9-11/99, p. 6, "Sparking interest in rapid rocks." Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

I have never seen anything in the Bible that would limit a ministry of biblical reproof so that influential pastors are not subject to it. And I have never seen anything in the Bible that requires that a preacher give reproof only in a private context. The prophets of old reproved even godly kings for their spiritual compromise. “Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the LORD hath broken thy works. And the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish” (2 Chronicles 20:37). Paul publicly reproved Peter for his hypocrisy (Galatians 2:14). If Peter’s friends had been like some independent Baptists, they would have lashed out at Paul for his audacity at reproving the man of God, and especially for reproving him before others. “Why didn’t Paul talk with Peter privately instead of making a public issue of it?” they would ask. “Was he jealous of Peter? Yes, that must be it. Who is Paul compared to Peter? When Paul wins 3,000 to the Lord through one sermon and pastors a church of thousands, then he might be qualified to reprove the great man, but not before. Why, when Paul preached on Mars Hill, only a handful of people responded, probably because he made too much of repentance! And unlike Peter, Paul didn’t walk with Christ through His earthly sojourn and see the miracles firsthand and hear the Master’s teaching with his own ears. Who does he think he is to reprove Peter for hypocrisy? Does he think he is the epitome of Christian perfection? That must be it. He is probably puffed up with pride and besotted with jealousy. Further, Paul is nit-picking. Peter’s little “hypocrisy” is no big deal. Paul needs to stand back and look at the bigger picture of Peter’s fruitful ministry. Why doesn’t Paul aim his guns at real errors instead of shooting the wounded? Doesn’t he realize that it is wrong to be divisive? Further, Paul isn’t even a member of the Jerusalem church, so he needs to mind his own business and respect the autonomy of the church. If he wants to reprove someone, let him reprove the Judaizers and the Gnostics and leave the man of God alone.” This is the thinking of many independent Baptists, but it not scriptural. No preacher is above being tested by God’s Word. Any preacher is liable to compromise and error. And if his compromise and error is public and has a public influence, the reproof should be public. While no man enjoys reproof, a godly man knows that reproof is necessary. “Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish” (Proverbs 12:1). I’m not talking about a carnal, critical, nit-picking spirit. I’m not talking about cheap gossip. I’m not talking about criticism based on personal opinion. I’m talking about a godly critique issued with spiritual wisdom and based solidly upon the Scripture rightly divided by men who love Christ and have His glory in view.

(Friday Church News Notes, October 16, 2015, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

John 10:16

There are several groups of people around the world that claim to be part of the Jewish people. Many even practice a form of the Judaic rites. But they don't have any provable connections to the Jewish people.

In southern Africa there is a tribe called the Lemba. They speak Bantu. However, their tradition says that they were led to Africa from Judea by a leader named Buba in the distant past. The Lemba also practice Jewish traditions, including keeping one day a week holy. They do not eat pork. This could be dismissed as coincidental, but they can prove their heritage. In an earlier Creation Moments program we talked about the so-called "cohen genetic signature." Cohen means priest. This genetic mutation is carried in the Y chromosome. It is rare in the general population. Even among the general Jewish population, only three to five percent carry the mutation. However, the mutation is so common among the descendants of Aaron that it is considered a strong indicator of descendancy from the Levites. It is also common among the Lemba men, proving they are not only genetically Jewish, but also they descended from ancient Israel's priests!
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While we may never know exactly how the Lemba tribe came to be, we know that all people are God's creation. We also know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the nations. No one has wandered so far from God that they cannot be saved by the blood of Jesus Christ.
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Notes: Science Frontiers, 1-2/00, p. 1, "A Far Wandering Tribe?" Photo: http://noicon.weebly.com/24.html.
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

“At several steps on their path to death by beheading and crucifixion last month, 11 indigenous Christian workers near Aleppo, Syria had the option to leave the area and live. ... The indigenous missionaries were not required to stay at their ministry base in a village near Aleppo, Syria; rather, the ministry director who trained them had entreated them to leave. As the Islamic State (ISIS), other rebel groups and Syrian government forces turned Aleppo into a war zone of carnage and destruction, ISIS took over several outlying villages. The Syrian ministry workers in those villages chose to stay in order to provide aid in the name of Christ to survivors. ... The relatives said ISIS militants on Aug. 7 captured the Christian workers in a village whose name is withheld for security reasons. On Aug. 28, the militants asked if they had renounced Islam for Christianity. When the Christians said that they had, the rebels asked if they wanted to return to Islam. The Christians said they would never renounce Christ. The 41-year-old team leader, his young son and two ministry members in their 20s were questioned at one village where ISIS militants had summoned a crowd. The team leader presided over nine house churches he had helped to establish. His son was two months away from his 13th birthday. In front of the team leader and relatives in the crowd, the Islamic extremists cut off the fingertips of the boy and severely beat him, telling his father they would stop the torture only if he, the father, returned to Islam. When the team leader refused, relatives said, the ISIS militants also tortured and beat him and the two other ministry workers. The three men and the boy then met their deaths in crucifixion. ... Eight other ministry team members, including two women, were taken to another site in the village that day (Aug. 28) and were asked the same questions before a crowd. The women, ages 29 and 33, tried to tell the ISIS militants they were only sharing the peace and love of Christ and asked what they had done wrong to deserve the abuse. The Islamic extremists then publicly raped the women, who continued to pray during the ordeal, leading the ISIS militants to beat them all the more furiously. As the two women and the six men knelt before they were beheaded, they were all praying.”

​“Christian Workers,” Christian Aid, Oct. 1, 2015

​Psalm 105:31

Flying insects have been a huge mystery to scientists, especially those who believe in evolution. Until recently, scientists didn't know how flying insects could fly. Wind tunnel tests on insect wings showed that their wings produce anywhere from a third to half as much lift needed for flight, depending on the species. Yet, horseflies have been clocked flying at up to 90 miles per hour!
Detailed research on the bio-mechanics of insect flight has now revealed how they manage to fly. Insect flight does not use quite the same principles as airplane flight. Unlike the wings of a modern airplane, insect wings trace a figure eight during flight. If an airliner's wings attack the air at an angle of more than 18 degrees, the vortex that provides lift to the top of the wing pulls away from the wing and the result is a stall. Insect wings, however, attack the air at a much steeper angle. Why doesn't the lifting vortex pull away from an insect's wing, leaving the insect in a stall? Researchers learned that because the insect's wing is moving faster at the tip, the lifting vortex does not pull away from the wing and gives the insect a 70 percent increase in lift.
Evolutionists depict today's flying insects as descendants of ancient insects that could only glide. Then, over supposed millions of years they developed the wings and flight skills of modern insects. This recent research, however, reveals that insect flight is no chance development. It was carefully engineered by a Creator from the very beginning.

Notes: Discover, 4/00, pp. 27-28, "What's the Buzz?" Photo: Courtesy of Dennis Ray. (CC BY-SA 2.5).
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

On October 10, prayers were offered in more than 14,000 places for Mary to save America. The Public Square Rosary Crusade was sponsored by the America Needs Fatima campaign, which is based on the myth that Mary appeared at Fatima, Portugal, in 1917 and instructed three children to do penance and make personal sacrifices to save sinners, which is a false gospel. Francis Slobodnik, national coordinator, said, “If only we’d turn to Our Lady, and do what she requested at Fatima, people would receive the courage needed to turn things around in America. ... I just know the Blessed Mother will be touched by these events and work wonders on that day. She cannot refuse the prayers of her children, who beg for help!” (“14,000 Rosary Rallies,” Christian Newswire, Oct. 9, 2015). America doubtless needs earnest prayer, but there is not a hint in Scripture that Mary can hear and answer prayers. It is a blasphemous concept that destroys the doctrine of Jesus Christ as sole Mediator. “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:3-5).

(Friday Church News Notes, October 16, 2015, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

​Psalm 118:22

Mice of the Sahara Desert pile up round stones in front of their burrows, making small pyramids through which the air can flow. As the morning air heats up, the rocks heat up much more slowly. As the dew point of the rapidly warming air rises, water in the air begins to condense on the cooler stones. It turns out that having round stones leaves exactly the right shaped spaces for this to take place. This is how the mice get their water.

Mice in the dry climates of Australia also build pyramids to catch the morning dew. They construct their pyramids of small, uniformly sized round stones over their burrows. Their pyramids may be up to a yard across. Again, as the morning air passes through the loose pile of stones, the dew collects on the cooler stones, providing a source of water for the mice. While a second species of Australian mice don't build such pyramids, they will use those built by the first species as a source of water. All of this leaves those who believe in evolution with some difficult questions. How did mice learn to build these pyramids to catch the dew? And how did two different species, half a world apart, arrive at the same solution to survival?
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These questions are easily answered if we assume that the intelligent Creator of mice built such knowledge into them when He first made them. This is the same Creator Who sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to be the cornerstone of the eternal structure made up of all believers.

Notes: Science Frontiers, p. 17, "Ancient Greek Pyramids?" p. 137, "More Mouse Engineering."
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

In a sermon delivered at a mosque in Gaza, Muslim cleric Sallah Abu Rajab brandished a knife and called on Muslims to kill Jews. He said, “Much can be told about Jerusalem. This is where the soldiers of the Prophet Muhammad are. This is the grace of Allah. The soldiers of the Prophet Muhammad are here. Brothers, this is why we recall today what Allah did to the Jews. We recall what he did to them in Khaybar” (“Rafah Cleric Brandishes Knife in Friday Sermon,” MEMRITV.org, Oct. 9, 2015). Sallah also said, “Oh men of the West Bank, next time, attack in a group of three, four, or five. Attack them in groups. Cut them into body parts.” At Khaybar, Muhammad attacked peaceful Jewish settlements, killed many of the men, robbed them of their hard-earned wealth, enslaved their women, daughters, and children, and forced the surviving men to farm the land and give half of the income to the Muslims. The following is from Muhammad’s official Islamic biography: “After the treaty of Al Hudaybiya, Mohammed stayed in Medina for about two months before he collected his army and marched to the forts of Khaybar, a community of wealthy Jewish farmers who lived in a village of separate forts about 100 miles from Medina. Mohammed seized the forts one at a time. Among the captives was a beautiful Jewess named Safiya. Mohammed took her for his sexual pleasure. [Her husband and father had just been beheaded by the Muslims.] ... Mohammed knew that there was a large treasure hidden somewhere in Khaybar, so he brought forth the Jew who he thought knew the most about it and questioned him. The Jew denied any knowledge. Mohammed told one of his men, ‘Torture the Jew until you extract what he has.’ So the Jew was staked on the ground, and a small fire built on his chest to get him to talk. When the man was nearly dead and still would not talk, Mohammed had him released and taken to one of his men who had had a brother killed in the fight. This Muslim got the pleasure of cutting off the tortured Jew’s head” (Ibn Ishaq, Sirat Rasul Allah, 756-764).

(Friday Church News Notes, October 16, 2015, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

Last week, 15 wrongheaded Protestant “ministers” and Jewish rabbis in Cleveland, Ohio, blessed the Preterm abortion clinic. “The Very Rev.” Tracey Lind, Dean of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, offered the following prayer: “Bless this building. May its walls stand strong against the onslaught of shame thrown at it. May it be a beacon of hope for those who need its services” (“Clergy Bless Preterm Clinic,” Ohio Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, RCRC, Oct. 8, 2015). This was addressed to the God of non-judgmentalism who is OK with the murder of unborn children and is only concerned about the feelings of women. “Rev.” Laura Young, a United Methodist minister who describes herself as a “progressive theological thinker and a feminist,” says, “It breaks my heart to know women are sitting in pews across the country feeling shamed, believing they’re cursed for making this decision. That’s a question I get a lot on the phone. ‘Am I going to hell?’ When God instead is there to support women through it all” (“Clergy Bless Preterm Clinic,” RCRC). The Columbus Dispatch added this comment by Young: “As people of faith, we know that God’s love is constant when a woman is deciding to have an abortion. God’s love is with her the entire time” (“Clergy group blesses Cleveland abortion clinic,” Columbus Dispatch, Oct. 8, 2015). God’s love is unfathomable and is evident by the Son of God’s atoning sacrifice on Calvary, but the thrice-holy God requires repentance of sin, and He does not overlook the murder of children. There are two parties involved in an abortion, the mother and the child. If there were no child, there would be no “mother.” That this narcissistic generation thinks preeminently of one party, which is self, is a major sign of the times. “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy” (2 Timothy 3:1-2).

(Friday Church News Notes, October 16, 2015, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

Several have asked for my opinion in regard to hymnals. I don’t spend much time with English hymnals, but a couple of years ago I examined Living Hymns (second edition) and found a lot to like. It was first published by Al Smith in 1972 and is still copyrighted by Al Smith Ministries. The latest edition is distributed by Paul Chappell’s Striving Together Ministries. It has a large selection, with 887 songs and hymns, which I appreciate. There is no author index, but I tried to look at the author of every song. There are two by the Gaithers but none by any of the other contemporary worship artists, as far as I can tell. It has hymns that are rarely seen, such as Charles Weigle’s “No One Ever Cared for Me Like Jesus.” There are some little-known hymns by old-time fundamentalists such as R.A. Torrey, James Gray, and Lewis Sperry Chafer. Thousands upon thousands of sound sacred songs and hymns have been written just in the last couple of centuries, so any hymnal is just a sampling, and no one hymnal will meet every church’s needs, but Living Hymns seems to be a good all-around English hymnal. It’s too bad that Lancaster Baptist Church isn’t content with the nearly 900 psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs in its own hymnal and feels the need to mess around with contemporary worship and thus lead many other churches into those exceedingly dangerous waters.


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(Friday Church News Notes, October 9, 2015, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

​Genesis 1:14

El Niños have been periodically changing the weather patterns of North and South America for thousands of years. El Niños in the Andes result in a four to six week delay in the rain needed for the potato crops on which ancient farmers depended. They even knew ahead of time when to wait to plant their potatoes for best results.

Between June 13 and 24 of each year, these farmers would search the early dawn sky for the invisible signs of an El Niño. The warm El Niño waters cause more moisture to accumulate in the atmosphere. Some of this moisture forms invisible cirrus clouds high in the atmosphere. While invisible, these clouds would cause some of the more dim stars to disappear. So the Andean farmers looked to the northeastern horizon to find the Pleiades. If all seven stars, including the dimmest of them, shone clearly morning after morning, the Andean farmers knew that no El Niño was forming. However, if they consistently saw a dimming of the stars, they knew that they should delay planting for four to six weeks because the rains would be late.

​Where would the Andean farmers learn the signs and consequences of an El Niño for their crops? The Bible teaches that the sun, moon and stars also serve to give us signs about the seasons. It would appear that God originally gave Adam the ability to read these signs, knowledge which Adam would have passed down to future generations.

Notes: Science Frontiers, 3-4/00, p. 1 "Archeometeorology."
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

The following statement by Sir Robert Anderson (1841-1918), from The Coming Prince, refutes the heresy of “non-essentials”: “When David reached the throne of Israel and came to choose his generals, he named for the chief commands the men who had made themselves conspicuous by feats of prowess or of valor. Among the foremost three was one of whom the record states that he defended a tract of lentiles, and drove away a troop of the Philistines (2 Samuel 23:11-12). To others it may have seemed little better than a patch of weeds, and not worth fighting for, but it was precious to the Israelite as a portion of the divinely-given inheritance, and moreover the enemy might have used it as a rallying ground from which to capture strongholds. So is it with the Bible. It is all of intrinsic value if indeed it be from God; and moreover, the statement which is assailed, and which may seem of no importance, may prove to be a link in the chain of truth on which we are depending for eternal life.”



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​(Friday Church News Notes, October 9, 2015, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)